Loadstone
| }} Michael O'Connell, alias Loadstone, is a world-renowned technological genius, considered by some as the "Father of Clean Energy." He has been a member of the League of Salvation for over a decade, during which time he has gradually become something akin to their poster child. Description Michael is a 5' 11" tall human man, who keeps his blond hair spiked up in a sort of windswept disarray and his bright blue eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. His civilian garb is nearly always casual, usually just a T-shirt and jeans. As Loadstone he wears a metallic silver jumpsuit, with an insignia on the chest of a horseshoe magnet with a yellow lightning bolt between the tips. His purple gloves and boots also bear lightning motifs. History History of the character. 'To Save the World!' 'The Intervening Years' In 2008, Michael licensed the patent for his Crystaxium Energy Generator to Alerce International Industries, who took the design and fashioned it into a self-sustaining energy plant. Alerce pays royalties on all its energy production profits in North America to Michael, which were sizable enough that he was able to quit his job at MechaniCo and become a freelance inventor. Michael was part of the team which put together the NEXUS Defense Grid, brought into the project by his fellow League member Starburst. The World in Your Hands Loadstone was one of the Heroes brought up on stage during the opening ceremony of the Festival of Victory. When the Children of Equality attacked the event, he launched himself at the first Child he saw, Sky-Saber. Personality Michael is a very sociable person, preferring to work on a team rather than running solo. He has years of experience working with many members of the League, and can effortlessly take charge of a situation or back off and follow orders. While he is generally well-liked by his fellow Heroes, his usually affable demeanor is in stark contrast to his sharp, at times caustic, wit. His quirky sense of humor leads him to cracking jokes at inappropriate times or making light of otherwise serious situations. As such, he often comes across as insensitive and slightly rude without really meaning to. While he is both approachable and flirtatious, Loadstone seems averse to, or perhaps incapable of, making deeper personal connections. Having been betrayed, abandoned, and emotionally traumatized over the course of his career has caused him to build walls around himself that few manage to penetrate. He has never tried to hide his personal identity, even before achieving a relatively celebrity status. As far as he is concerned, he is completely capable of defending himself from any SuperVillain stupid enough to track him down, and as practically anyone he cares about is also SuperHuman they too are capable of ensuring their own safety. He also lavishes in the attention his alter ego provides him. Powers, Abilities, and Equipment Loadstone possesses the power of magnetokinesis, in more common parlance the ability to create and manipulate magnetic fields, with which he is able to intimately manipulate any sort of ferrous material. In addition, his body acts as a generator of intense bioelectricity, which he is constantly discharging at a low level. Using his magnetic abilities, he is able to control this discharge, making him appear to possess electrokinetic powers, as well. This ability to create a field of bioelectricity allows him to metabolize and ground any electricity he comes in contact with - he has absorbed direct lightning strikes with no adverse effects. On a lesser note, his eyesight is far more acute than that of a regular human; his hearing was once similarly advanced, but constant aggravation has deteriorated it to around normal levels. Neither were powers he has ever considered as such - to him, senses at that level were perfectly natural. ---- Michael has degrees in a broad range of engineering fields - mechanical, electrical, aerospace, computer, electronics - with a doctorate in Robotics engineering. He seems to possess an innate understanding of technology as a whole, enough so that he is able to jury rig practically any sufficiently advanced system and has been known to build basic devices on the fly. Loadstone's fighting style is purely long-range; he prefers to hover above the field of battle, using his magnetic powers to hurl items at his opponents or direct stunning blasts of electricity their way. He has little functional knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, and will try to avoid it at all costs. He tries to keep himself limber and in top physical shape, and has been known to pull off some contortionist and acrobatic moves in order to dodge attacks. ---- Loadstone has two iconic pieces of equipment he is seldom, if ever, parted with. The first is his "magnaboard," a surfboard-shaped slab of ferrous metal which he can magnetically hurl at opponents, mold into whatever suits him at the time, or most notably, use the earth's magnetic fields to repel it from the ground, allowing him to fly. (The soles of his shoes are metallic, allowing him to magnetize himself to the board to prevent falling off.) The second is a pair of polarizing sunglasses that negate the effects of light-based attacks, which serve the dual purpose of protecting his sensitive sight and giving him an edge against photokinetics. He has conducted several experiments on the exact properties of his bioelectric powers, and is in the process of developing a system of personal equipment powered by his natural electric field. Category:League of Salvation Category:New York Four Category:Azophel